Scotland star Scott McTominay is fully fit and prepared for the team's opening World Cup match against Haiti on Saturday after overcoming a stomach illness, head coach Steve Clarke confirmed.
McTominay declared fit
Clarke stated, "He is perfect and ready to go," regarding the fitness of the Napoli midfielder, who is Scotland's standout player. The 29-year-old enjoyed a prolific season, netting 14 goals across all competitions for the Serie A runners-up.
McTominay became a national icon after his stunning overhead kick in the crucial 4-2 victory over Denmark last November, which secured Scotland's qualification for their first World Cup since 1998.
Clarke eases pressure on star man
Despite McTominay's heroics, Clarke is keen to avoid placing excessive expectation on the former Manchester United star ahead of the Group C opener in Boston. "I think I have got 26 superstars here. To try and put so much onto one person is not fair. We have built everything we have over the last seven years on the squad, the team, everybody being together and playing their part at certain times," Clarke remarked.
McTominay has been deployed in various positions for Scotland but is expected to operate as an attacking midfielder during the World Cup. Clarke humorously noted, "Some daft coach put him as a center-half five years ago, but obviously he is not a center-half. Since he moved further forward he has done great for us. We are delighted with Scott's abilities and what he can bring to the team, but we are going to need another 15 that can do the same if we want to have a positive tournament."
Scotland's World Cup challenge
Scotland need a strong start to have any hope of advancing from the group stage for the first time in their history. After Haiti, they face Morocco and Brazil, ranked seventh and sixth in the world respectively.
This World Cup appearance follows Scotland's participation in the last two European Championships, where they exited in the group phase without a win. Clarke reflected, "The last two tournaments have not gone the way we wanted them to go, but we have another chance, and that is credit to the players that they keep qualifying for these major tournaments. It is great to be here, but we also want to do something special."
Lessons from past tournaments
The 62-year-old coach, who has been in charge since 2019 and recently signed a contract extension until 2030, was asked about lessons learned from their previous tournament openers, particularly the 5-1 thrashing by Germany at Euro 2024. "The Germany one is easy, don't get humped," he joked. "The way we started that tournament, we let ourselves down and then you have that bad feeling hanging over you the whole tournament."
